[VIDEO] Hands-On Impressions of the Tudor FXD GMT “Zulu Time”

It’s been just a few weeks since the release of the Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT, and if one thing is already clear, this latest addition to the FXD lineup is a hit. I already personally know a handful of people who have picked one up, and even if I didn’t, I’ve seen enough wrist shots on Instagram to know that this is going to be an exceedingly popular watch across the board and is likely Tudor’s most successful new release of the year (no small feat considering the consistency and quality of their 2024 releases).

The Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT is also probably the most surprising Tudor release of the year, not because we didn’t expect some version of this to hit the catalog eventually, but because of just how closely Tudor has hewn to the theoretical watch so many collectors have been clamoring for. It’s exceedingly rare for either Tudor or Rolex to give enthusiasts exactly what they’ve been asking for, but with the Pelagos FXD GMT, they’ve done just that.

So with all that in mind, I went down to my local AD to spend some hands-on time with Tudor’s latest and greatest. I came away from that visit with two clear thoughts cemented in my mind. The first is that the Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT is, without a doubt, the objectively best GMT to come out of either Rolex or Tudor, ever. The second is that I have absolutely no interest in owning one, at least not yet.

On paper, the FXD GMT is everything you could want from a Tudor GMT. Here we have an FXD (already possibly the coolest watch Tudor makes), augmented with a METAS-certified GMT movement, an orange GMT hand straight off an Explorer II, coloring reminiscent of the absolutely wicked Pelagos LHD, a 48-click bezel (the best option for a GMT bezel), and an MN caseback. Oh, and, somehow, Tudor has managed to shave a tenth of a millimeter off the case thickness, while still maintaining 200m of water resistance.

In practice, though, the FXD GMT falls utterly flat. As someone whose job it is to offer consumer advice, there is nothing about this new watch I can point to as a good reason to leave it sitting in the display case of your local dealer. The watch is too good, and does too much, too well, for me to say that anyone interested shouldn’t buy it. But, to me, the FXD GMT shows the perils that can come with giving us exactly what we asked for.

My favorite thing about Tudor isn’t any specific detail or technical characteristic, but rather that their watches tend to convey a clear sense of self. I mean, this is the brand that made the Black Bay P01 after all. The Tudor Pelagos FXD GMT doesn’t do that. Instead, it struck me as a watch built to check a box. In my short time with the FXD GMT, the watch felt conciliatory, like its sole purpose was to placate an audience. But my god does it have potential, and I’m willing to bet that, when Tudor finally makes the version of this watch we can’t yet imagine, I’ll be lined up just like everyone else. Tudor